Against the sun-clad power of chastity;

Fain would I something say, yet to what end?
Thou hast nor ear, nor soul to apprehend
The sublime notion, and high mystery,

That must be utter'd to unfold the sage
And serious doctrine of virginity,

795

(792) From what was said in the note on line 421, it has appeared that the Peruvian bark hast already been in the contemplation of the poet; and it has been since particularly alluded to by the expression of corporal rind of 673, and perhaps by the vermeil-tinctured lip of 762: it is here again most specially alluded to, and in the 795th and following lines, but with so very marked a reverence, that I think it fit to imitate the example of the poet and leave the veil over it as I find it. In the conclusion of the speech, however, by the mention of the flame and the brute earth shaking, the allusion is distinct enough to the fires and earthquakes of the volcanoes of the Andes mountains of Peru, where this superlatively useful remedy is found.

And thou art worthy that thou should'st not know More happiness than this thy present lot.

Enjoy your dear wit and gay rhetoric,

800

That hath so well been taught her dazzling fence.

Thou art not fit to hear thyself convinc'd;

Yet, should I try, the uncontrolled worth

Of this pure cause would kindle my rapt spirits To such a flame of sacred vehemence,

805

That dumb things would be mov'd to sympathize, And the brute earth would lend her nerves and shake,

Till all thy magic structures rear'd so high,
Were shatter'd into heaps o'er thy false head,
Com. She fables not; I feel that I do fear
Her words set off by some superior power;

810

And though not mortal, yet a cold shudd'ring dew

(812) The frequent allusions which have been made passim to the torpid numbness, which is the distinguishing characteristic of the ague, cannot have escaped the reader's attention, as in the nerves being all chained up like those of a statue in the 667th line; in the mention of dumb things

Dips me all o'er, as when the wrath of Jove
Speaks thunder, and the chains of Erebus

To some of Saturn's crew. I must dissemble, 815
And try her yet more strongly. Come, no more,
This is mere moral babble, and direct

Against the canon laws of our foundation;

820

I must not suffer this, yet 'tis but the lees
And settlings of a melancholy blood:
But this will cure all strait, one sip of this
Will bathe the drooping spirits in delight
Beyond the bliss of dreams. Be wise and taste.

The Brothers rush in with swords drawn, wrest his

Glass out of his hand, and break it against the ground; his Rout make sign of resistance, but are all driven in.-The Attendant Spirit comes in.

Spir. What have you let the false enchanter

'scape?

O, ye mistook; ye should have snatch'd his wand

in 806; in a most particular manner in this 812th line, and again in the 829th, post.

And bound him fast; without his rod revers'd826
And backward mutters of dissevering power,
We cannot free the lady that sits here

In stony fetters fix'd and motionless.

Yet stay, be not disturb'd; now I bethink me,830

(830) Now I bethink me. It will be seen from the quotations from Virgil set out hereafter, that frequent allusions to the bark are made therein by the word memor alone; that is, by a pun upon the name of the Mamore, the river in South America, on which the bark-tree grows; this expression here alludes to the same circumstance; and as it has been above stated, that the Attendant Spirit or Shepherd, who is now speaking, represents that very river, it seems to imply, that at the same time the bark is administered, another remedy, which is now about to be disclosed, is to be administered likewise. It has been shewn in the third chapter on Homer, that the excellent qualities ⚫ of calomel or mercury are disguised in the Odyssey under an enigma of the herb moly; those of alum, in this mask, under the enigma upon hæmony;

Some other means I have which may be us'd,
Which once of Melibæus old I learn'd,

those of the Peruvian bark, under a disguise almost amounting to enigma, as stated in the note on line 792. It is not to be wondered at, therefore, that a remedy, which as being the last mentioned (and from what is otherwise said of it,) should seem to be the most effective of the cures for the ague and its concomitant or consequent fevers mainly in question, should be brought forward under the veil of an enigma likewise. This remedy, as far as I can learn, has become entirely obsolete in modern practice, and confined to the use of painters and other artists; in one word, it is the gum lac. But though it forms no item at present in the materia medica, accounts of some of its medical qualities still exist upon record. The Encyclopædia Britannica, under the article lacca, says of it, that "it is likewise used for medicinal purposes: the stick-lac is the sort used. It is of great esteem in Germany and other countries, for laxity and sponginess of the gums, pro

VOL. VI.